Ons volg die debat.

Here ons means we.

A useful thing to know is that Afrikaans ons can also mean us, depending on its role in the sentence:

• Ons volg die debat. = We follow the debate.
• Hulle sien ons. = They see us.

So unlike English, the same form often works for both subject and object.

Because Afrikaans verbs usually do not change for person in the present tense.

So you get:

• Ek volg = I follow
• Jy volg = you follow
• Ons volg = we follow
• Hulle volg = they follow

This is one of the nice simplifications in Afrikaans compared with English and many other European languages.

In this sentence, volg means something like follow, keep track of, or pay attention to the debate.

Depending on context, volg can also mean:

• to follow someone physically
• to come after something
• to understand a line of thought

So Ons volg die debat most naturally means that we are following what is happening in the debate.

No. Volg can take a direct object, so die debat comes straight after it.

That is why you say:

• Ons volg die debat.

and not something like:

• Ons volg aan die debat
• Ons volg na die debat

Those would be wrong here.

Die is the definite article, so here it means the.

Afrikaans uses die for:

• singular nouns
• plural nouns
• all grammatical genders

So Afrikaans does not make article distinctions like masculine/feminine/neuter the way some languages do.

Examples:

• die debat = the debate
• die man = the man
• die vrou = the woman
• die huise = the houses

No. In this sentence, die is normally pronounced roughly like dee.

That is a very common beginner point, because the spelling looks misleading to English speakers.

So:

• die = the
• pronunciation: roughly dee

This is the normal basic word order for a simple main clause in Afrikaans:

• Ons = subject
• volg = verb
• die debat = object

So it follows a straightforward subject–verb–object pattern, much like English.

However, Afrikaans is also a verb-second language in main clauses. That means if you move another element to the front, the verb still stays in second position:

• Vandag volg ons die debat. = Today we follow the debate.

So the simple sentence looks very English-like, but Afrikaans word order has its own rules in longer sentences.

Debat is a singular noun meaning debate.

Useful related forms:

• die debat = the debate
• 'n debat = a debate
• debatte = debates

It is also a good example of how many Afrikaans words are similar to English words, though spelling and pronunciation may differ slightly.

You would say:

• Ons volg nie die debat nie.

Afrikaans typically uses a double nie in ordinary negation:

• the first nie comes after the verb or the part being negated
• the second nie usually comes at the end of the clause

So this is a very important pattern to learn early.